Frankfurt Aims to be Europe’s Biggest Pharma-Hub

25. April 2016

Frankfurt Airport’s Air Cargo Community (ACC) has been busy during the past months in trying to attract more attention to what they see are the potential benefits for airlines and
shippers to choose the Rhine-Main airport for their business.

Pushing the CEIV Certification
In a press release issued today the ACC states that in cooperation with the airport they are being successful in enabling various companies register and certify themselves for the IATA CEIV
certification for pharmaceutical products.
The aim is to make FRA the most desired location for the handling of pharma products in Europe.

A certified “Pharma Gateway” - that’s the aim of the ACC managers.
Joachim von Winning is confident that FRA will reach its aim very soon.
The airport he says already has a reputation as being one of the best and that the certification and optimization of the CEIV throughout the entire supply chain is a must and of utmost importance
for the industry.
To this effect the Air Cargo Community is actively supporting the certification process and offering companies who wish to gain the now much coveted CEIV stamp, all the help they can.
This entails building and coordinating a common operating platform for all companies involved.

The first IATA CEIV certifications are now done
Frankfurt’s Perishable Centre as well as Bollore Logistics Germany have both been fully CEIV certified.
Other companies are in the final stages of the nine-month process of gaining their CEIV stamp.
These are: FCS Frankfurt Cargo Services, Celebi Cargo GmbH, Fraport AG (Ground Services), Lufthansa Cargo, LUG aircargo handling and Swissport Cargo Services.
Mr von Winning states that once these companies are fully certified then almost 95 percent of FRA’s cargo handling and 85 percent of its ramp handling services will be CEIV covered.
The airport handles more than 100,000 tons of pharmaceutical products each year and claims to be Europe’s number one pharma-hub.

The IATA CEIV process got off to a slow start a couple of years ago with Brussels Airport having taken the lead and being the first certified CEIV airport.
In the meantime, many have joined the club and FRA will still have pretty much competition out there in the future if they want to gain the title of Pharma Gateway in Europe.